ALLEN PARK — Christian Mahogany has returned to practice, with the Detroit Lions still hoping to get him back with four games left in the regular season.
Mahogany has been out since suffering a broken bone in his leg in the first game after the bye in Week 9. The Lions hoped he would be back at practice and on the field before the end of the season, and this is a great first step. Now, he’ll have 21 days to practice before the Lions must decide to activate him or not.
The second-year offensive guard wasn’t the only Lions player to make their return to practice on Wednesday. They also welcomed back safeties Kerby Joseph and Thomas Harper, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond, tight end Shane Zylstra and offensive guard Kayode Awosika.
Veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone and left tackle Taylor Decker were the only two players missing from Wednesday’s practice. Anzalone’s status is unknown, while Decker has been getting rest days to handle his lingering shoulder injury all season long.
Joseph has missed seven straight games with a lingering knee injury. The All-Pro safety returned for one practice last week, then wasn’t seen to end the week. This time around, Joseph ditched the hefty knee brace and switched to just a protective sleeve.
Harper, who has started in place of Joseph, suffered a concussion in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. Dan Campbell didn’t sound confident about having enough time to get ready to face the Los Angeles Rams. But Harper’s return to practice in the first open to reporters since the last game is a positive update as he works through concussion protocol.
The Lions are missing safety Brian Branch for the rest of the season. Branch underwent surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon, and the team says it went well, and they were told the standard eight to 12 months for the recovery timeline.
St. Brown managed to play and make a huge impact in last week’s game. But he did that without practicing once in what was a true game-time decision. The fact that he was able to play and produce was a great sign. But to see St. Brown on the practice field after going through all of that with a sprained ankle indicates there were no setbacks in pushing through the issue.
Raymond has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. This was his first practice back since suffering the injury against the New York Giants. Tom Kennedy has filled Raymond’s role returning punts and kicks, and has done an impressive job to this point. Raymond is a two-time All-Pro punt returner, but Kennedy is the hot hand, producing results not seen around these parts since Mel Gray was making plays.
Zylstra had his 21-day window opened last week, but then missed a couple of practices. The Lions said that was always part of the plan, and they hope to see him back on the field on Sunday.
Last but not least is Awosika, who missed the game against the Cowboys due to a mid-week foot injury. Trystan Colon started in his place, with the Lions working rookie Miles Frazier into the rotation. It’ll be interesting to see how the Lions balance that decision between trusting Awosika and wanting to see more from Colon and Frazier in those opportunities.
Giovanni Manu remains on injured reserve due to a knee injury and hasn’t returned to practice. But the second-year offensive tackle was spotted working to the side, and is a potential activation to watch.